Hunting is a common recreational activity, especially in rural areas. Modern guns eject the spent shells from the rifle or pistol, often automatically or with a minimal effort by the hunter, e.g., pump shotgun. Often, in the excitement of the hunt or while pursuing wounded or fallen game, the exact location of the spent shell casing is difficult to determine. This presents a number of problems. In the case of common brass cartridges, the brass decomposes very slowly and may contain other residual pollutants such as lead. Shotgun shells are often even more difficult to recover and pose a particular problem for livestock, in addition to the problems with residual pollutants. Spent, conventional shotgun shells are hard to see in the camouflage of natural hunting grounds. Even if colored, these shotgun shells are difficult to detect by hunters. If left unrecovered, the shotgun shells become a hazard for livestock, especially cattle because the animals ingest the shell. The shotgun shells and other spent ammunition is a nuisance for landowners and harmful to the environment. This problem leads to fewer landowners who are willing to permit hunting on their property, with a concomitant loss of areas for hunters to hunt in. There is a long felt need to make location of these spent cartridges more efficient. While most of the drawings depict shotgun shells, it should be appreciated that the invention also contemplates the shells of other types of guns: recovering such items reduces pollution and increases the ease of recovery for such activities as reloading.